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playbook/antigravity-awesome-skills/skills/expo-ui/references/universal.md
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2026-07-01 16:02:41 +00:00

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# Universal `@expo/ui` components
> Requires Expo SDK 56+.
Universal components are a single-API layer over the platform-native UI toolkits: Jetpack Compose on Android, SwiftUI on iOS, and `react-native-web` / `react-dom` on web. You write one component tree that runs unmodified on all three platforms while keeping a native look and feel — no `.ios.tsx` / `.android.tsx` split.
## Usage
Import everything, including `Host`, from the package root (`@expo/ui`). Every tree must be wrapped in `Host`.
```tsx
import { Host, Column, Button, Text } from '@expo/ui';
<Host matchContents>
<Column>
<Text>Hello</Text>
<Button onPress={() => alert('Pressed!')}>Press me</Button>
</Column>
</Host>;
```
## Components
| Category | Components |
|----------|------------|
| Container | `Host` (required root wrapper) |
| Layout | `Column`, `Row`, `Spacer`, `ScrollView` |
| Display | `Text`, `Icon` |
| Controls | `Button`, `Switch`, `Checkbox`, `Slider`, `TextInput`, `Picker` |
| Disclosure & presentation | `BottomSheet`, `Collapsible` |
| Collections & forms | `List` (with `ListItem`), `FieldGroup` |
> **`List` is not suitable for large lists.** Each `ListItem` is a JSX node processed on the JS thread — for large datasets this causes noticeable slowdowns.
## TextInput and useNativeState
`TextInput` from `@expo/ui` is **not like React Native's TextInput** — its `value` and `selection` props take an `ObservableState` object (from `useNativeState`), not a plain string. This is what enables synchronous, flicker-free updates: when the user types, `onChangeText` runs as a worklet on the UI thread and writes directly to `value` without a React render cycle.
Requires `react-native-worklets`. Without it the worklet directive has no effect and flickering remains.
```tsx
import { Host, TextInput, useNativeState } from '@expo/ui';
import { useCallback } from 'react';
export default function MyInput() {
const text = useNativeState('');
const handleChangeText = useCallback((value: string) => {
'worklet';
// transform synchronously on the UI thread — no React re-render
text.value = value === 'Hello' ? 'World' : value;
}, [text]);
return (
<Host matchContents>
<TextInput value={text} onChangeText={handleChangeText} placeholder="Type here" />
</Host>
);
}
```
Docs — https://docs.expo.dev/versions/latest/sdk/ui/universal/textinput/index.md
## Confirming the API
`@expo/ui` is versioned with the Expo SDK (e.g. `56.0.x` for SDK 56) and its API can change between SDK versions, so the **installed package's TypeScript types (`.d.ts`) are the most reliable source of truth** — they match the version in your project, while the docs track latest. Read the relevant component's `.d.ts` from the installed `@expo/ui` package in `node_modules`. Use the docs as the human-readable reference:
- Overview — https://docs.expo.dev/versions/latest/sdk/ui/universal/index.md
- Per component — https://docs.expo.dev/versions/latest/sdk/ui/universal/{component-name}/index.md
## When to drop down to a platform-specific layer
Choose universal components whenever they cover the requirement. Drop down to `@expo/ui/swift-ui` or `@expo/ui/jetpack-compose` only when the universal API doesn't expose the component, modifier, or platform-specific behavior you need — accepting the per-platform file split that requires. See `./swift-ui.md` and `./jetpack-compose.md`.